Unlimited budget + Secret Santa + tons of creativity = ?

In the spirit of the holidays, the Cybera Communications Team staged a hypothetical Secret Santa gift exchange. Names were drawn and each Cybera staff member was tasked with “buying” a gift for one of their colleagues. Everyone had an unlimited budget, access to any resources needed, and guaranteed overnight delivery. It was both green and cost-effective as no actual gifts were purchased or exchanged. Really, it’s the thought that counts, right? Here are the gifts we’d love to give…

Amanda Debenham: “For Everett’s Christmas gift, I would buy him unlimited access to Amazon for one day, as well as an all-expense paid scuba diving vacation (read about his last scuba adventure here).”

Robin Winsor: “I would get Jill a legendary and innovation-inspiring device from the early 1900’s: the Hush-a-phone. It was a huge thing that you put over the mouthpiece so that no one else can hear what you’re saying on the phone. Although, this would be more of a present for the office than for Jill (her voice can carry quite far!).”

Everett Toews: “I would get myself a private jet and a vast estate in Cupertino, where I would move to be on sabbatical. While there, I would spend my time constantly waiting and watching for someone to leave behind the prototype for the iPhone 5. Once in my possession, I would rent a private jet for the iPhone, and hire beautiful women to escort it back to Edmonton where it would be hand-delivered to John in a case made of diamonds. John would then have to choose between the diamonds or the iPhone…I think he’d take the phone!”

Cam Mann: “I would get David a copy of every Gralis book ever written.”

Natasha Kapty: “Jean-Francois loves coffee, so I would give him the most luxurious coffee experience in the world: a trip to Venice, California, to the Intelligentsia Coffeebar, where highly-skilled baristas will prepare him a cup of the world’s most expensive coffee – the Kopi luwak. Enjoy!”

Jana Makar: “For Amanda’s Christmas present, I would get her one of Google’s self-driving cars, to save her the hassle of fiddling with a GPS or navigating Edmonton’s commuter traffic. For an extra twist, the one I would get her will look like this (to make John Shillington jealous). It may not look like it from the outside, but there would be ample room in the back for a child’s car seat (safety first!). As an added bonus, the car would also have a built-in coffee-maker with a fresh cup of her favourite brew ready and waiting for her each morning.”

John Shillington: “Robin wants to buy a robot for the office, so I would give him a self-manufacturing, spatially aware remote-control robot. This bot would be able to know when it has been locked in a closet or otherwise tampered with, and would be able to create many more ‘Robin-bots.’ This way, Robin could have a presence in any office while he’s working from home!”

Jill Kowalchuk: “I would give Lindsay the perfect child. A child that is born with the ability to clean, feed and generally take care of itself from Day 1. That way, Lindsay would not have to miss any work!” ' (This sounds more like a gift for Jill than for Lindsay!)

Caroline Korchinski: “I’d give Karim ten $10,000 blank cheques to donate to ten different charities of his choice (under his name and tax-deductable of course), and a flight for him and his family to a five-star Cuban resort for a three week all-inclusive vacation. Upon arriving in Cuba, he’d be personally presented with 10,000 shares in Google from the CEO.”

Alex Joseph: “I would give Meagan a special customized app that is open-source (of course), works with all operating systems, saves her time, and simplifies her work on the WEHUB through a few clicks of a button. The prototype has already been developed.”

Marie Ferguson: “I would give Caroline a 2012 cherry red BMW convertible that she has to go to Mexico to pick up.”

May Lynn Lee: “I would get Barton a trip to New York City, including a visit to the Frick Collection because it offers an exhibition of both architecture and art, which both appeal to him.”

Barton Satchwill: “I would get Cam a lucky rabbit’s foot. He always seems to run into difficult problems with CESWP’s development environment that none of the rest of the Dev Ops team have had. Thankfully we’ve been able to resolve them all.”

David Ackerman: “‘I’d get Kylie set up with a YouTube channel so that she could create a cooking show to compete with the show she introduced us to. I would also add a bottle of wine for inspiration.”

Jean-Francois Amiot: “For Barb, I’d get her an artificial womb to carry her baby to term so that she doesn’t have to.”

Luke Tymowski: “I made a joke about getting Keeley a mini-dark-chocolate I.V. therapy line for Christmas, but she wasn’t too impressed…so instead I would give Keeley a fully-stocked wine cellar staffed by a part-time sommelier, whose other skills include zumba instructor and chocolatier.”

Barb Carra: “For May Lynn, I would set her up with the ability to do her community outreach and volunteer work in a third world country indefinitely so she would never work again, just help others. She would also get box seats to any play/musical that she wants to attend, for the rest of her life.”

Joe Topjian: “I would give Alvaro a pint of one of the world’s first beers, created in Germany around 3,000 B.C. (Interesting fact: The product that the early Europeans drank might not be recognized as beer by most people today. Alongside the basic starch source, they might also contain fruits, honey, numerous types of plants, spices and other substances such as narcotic herbs.)”

Lindsay Sill: “For busy Jana, I would give her 48-hour days so she can finally do all the things she likes/needs to: school, work, volunteering, sports, traveling, etc. Or, the ability to say “no” once and a while to free up some time…”

Meagan Hampel: “I would get Alex the jacket that turns into an inflatable avalanche shelter, as featured in James Bond’s The World is Not Enough, because we all worry about Alex when he goes on his crazy back-country climbing adventures in the Rockies…”

Karim Teja: “I would give Marie her own Chapters bookstore that is closed to the public, but open to her and her friends whenever she wants. Inside there would be soft sofas and a roaring fireplace, with subdued lighting and soft music playing in the background. There would be someone there to bring her tea, coffee or hot chocolate whenever she wanted, and to massage her feet while she reads!”

Kylie Robertson: “I would set Joe up with a great restaurant location on 17th Ave in Calgary, so that he could open up the city’s most delicious sandwich shop.”

Alvaro Pereira: “Because she loves jewelry (and designs her own line), I would get Natasha the rarest necklace in the world ' the Heart of the Ocean (as featured in the movie Titanic).”

Keeley Young: “I would get Luke a few different things: a robotic BigDog that will hopefully be able to keep up with him on his cross country expeditions, yet be able to stay at home by himself while Luke works his crazy hours; a five-pound gummy bear, because he’s always bringing us chocolate; and a Ren and Stimpy Christmas log.”